By Dobbie Newman
Steve Graham, President of The Oval Group LLC, presented to the Greater Richmond Human Resources Professionals group on Tuesday, October 20th.
The topic, Put a “Crystal Ball” in Your HR Toolbox, focused on assessment tools. More specifically, Steve’s talk covered:
- The kinds of tools currently available
- Tool usage – which one(s) to select
- Key questions to ask vendors
According to Steve, the recruitment and selection process should always begin with the development of a Job Profile (see Job Benchmarking). “You need to know what you are looking for, in order to find it.” Otherwise, as the Cheshire cat said to Alice in Wonderland, “…any road will take you there”.
Regarding Gallup’s recently completed survey of US employees that pegged average employee engagement at 32%, Steve said, “Imagine the impact you could have on your business if you even increased that number to just 50%!” Incorporating assessment tools into your selection process can enable you to select candidates (internal or external) that are at a significantly higher level of engagement because they will be better matched with the job and its rewards. Steve provided attendees with an overview of the top 5 sciences that The Oval Group uses to help companies assess, hire, and develop talent within their organizations. He also shared information about Key Questions to Ask Prospective Assessment Providers.
Above all it is important to ensure that your selection process is EEOC and OFCCP compliant, ensuring that your company is not discriminating against any protected group. Also, whichever assessment tools you use should account for, at most, one third of your selection process.